former india captain Rohit Sharma He has arrived in London in advance to start preparations for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England starting on July 14 in Birmingham. TimesofIndia.com has learned that Rohit has already had several formal training sessions with his close friends and local club bowlers at local clubs in and around London.Slough Cricket Club in the heart of Berkshire was Rohit’s first destination before moving to Swincombe Cricket Club near Blondine Park. Rohit, who is only playing for the national team now, wants to acclimatise before joining the Birmingham side. Experienced campaigners are aware of the challenges of racing in these conditions and want to be fully prepared before the action begins. The 39-year-old loves playing in England and has an amazing ODI record. In 27 games, the right-hander has scored 1,428 runs at an average of 64.9 and struck 700 runs, the highest among visiting batsmen. Rohit did not play much cricket before the ODI against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury, but he still performed admirably with 79 runs in Chennai. It wasn’t the smoothest start but the former skipper hit the right gear and looked in top form before being sacked by Mohamed Nabi. India desperately need experienced batsmen to give their all in England as the T20I squad is in the midst of a horror show. The batsmen have failed to acclimate and are clearly suffering the hangover of playing in the batting paradise of the IPL. There were some concerns over Rohit’s fitness ahead of the Afghanistan series, but he showed no discomfort on the field or while batting and is believed to be in peak physical condition ahead of the games in Birmingham, Cardiff and London.
